Chelsea to battle Ligue 1 side for 19-year-old Serie A starlet

Chelsea and OGC Nice to battle it out for Cesare Casadei

As per a tweet from Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are preparing a new bid to sign young Inter Milan midfielder Cesare Casadei. The Italian side are still weighing up their options with OGC Nice also keeping tabs on the situation.

The 19-year-old midfielder is yet to make a first-team appearance for Inter but is one of the sought-after youngsters in the Italian circuit. He is a versatile player, whose preferred position is in central midfield, but can play as a lone defensive midfielder, an attacking midfielder or as a wide midfielder.

Casadei scored 17 goals and assisted five in 40 appearances in all competitions last season playing for the youth team. He played most of the games in central midfield and still racked up impressive direct goal contribution numbers.

What those numbers tell us is that the youngster is a midfielder with an eye for goal. He can make those box-to-box runs and impact the game at both ends of the field. This dynamism would be a welcome addition to what is at times a rather stoic Chelsea midfield.

The only thing lacking in Casadei is his lack of experience in senior football. Though with the talent he possesses, that should not be far off.

Chelsea have already signed a teenage midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka on a six-year deal from Aston Villa this summer. It seems as if the new boss Todd Boehly is looking at signing young players and developing them at the famous Chelsea academy.

While Casadei is an exciting prospect, Chelsea also needs to strengthen their attack and defence with players who can perform from the off. It is fair to say that Thomas Tuchel has bigger fish to fry.

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Talent-wise, Casadei is very good and is only going to get better. So, if the club’s focus is on enhancing the quality of their youth team, the Inter boy would be a good signing. For the 19-year-old, the Chelsea academy has the reputation of being one of the best to develop young talents. So, if he comes to London, there won’t be any shortage of the right footballing education.